RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - A Republican lawmaker in Virginia is pushing legislation that would allow clerks to refuse to issue licenses for marriages they object to on moral or religious grounds.

Republican Sen. Charles Carrico of Galax said many of his constituents were concerned about what happened to Kim Davis, the Kentucky clerk who spent five days in jail last year for denying licenses to same-sex couples.

As the U.S. Supreme Court nears the end of its term, two major cases have yet to be decided. The high court is set to rule on a glitch in the Affordable Care Act that could eliminate the federal subsidies in states that did not set up their own health insurance exchanges. The second major case raises the possibility that same-sex marriage could become a constitutional right. Delmarva Public Radio's Don Rush talked with NPR Supreme Court correspondent Nina Totenberg about the upcoming decisions and the direction of the court.

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - The plaintiffs in a court case challenging Virginia's same-sex marriage ban have asked a federal appeals court not to stay its ruling striking down the law.

Last week, a county court clerk in northern Virginia sought to delay the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals' ruling while it is appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. That 2-1 ruling upheld the decision by a lower district court in Norfolk. The appellate court ruling applies throughout the circuit that also includes West Virginia, Maryland, and the Carolinas.

NORFOLK, Va. (AP) - A report by a think tank at UCLA says legalizing gay marriages in Virginia could generate up to $60 million in spending in three years.

The Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law estimates that about 7,000 same-sex couples may choose to get married in Virginia within three years of a change in law. In February, a federal judge in Norfolk struck down the state's ban on same-sex marriages. The decision has been stayed pending an appeal, and a three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will hear arguments in Richmond on May 13.

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) - Three controversial laws in 2012 prompted Maryland's first statewide ballot referendum in 20 years, allowing marriage equality, the Dream Act and congressional redistricting to be upheld by voters.

While a referendum for the newly passed death penalty repeal bill seems unlikely, lawmakers say a new bill that changes the state's referendum rules could create obstacles for citizens looking to petition state laws to ballot.